The four judges from the Olympic committee had already entered the club. Junsu and the staff were talking to them upstairs. Their bags were at the reception area. Before I went to the range, I asked Bill if he could go outside and see if there were any photographers. I promised I’d keep an eye on the bags. He agreed. As soon as he was out of sight, I planted what I needed in each of the judges’ suitcases. When he came back, I pressed a wet kiss to his cheek.
“Thank you for being a great friend.”
“Sure thing. Thank you for being the least scary warrior I’ve ever met.”
I smiled. I knew it was goodbye.
He didn’t.
I’d spent the night trying to figure out how I was going to use the information Hunter had given me about Junsu and Lana in a way that wouldn’t frame him, and I hadn’t slept a wink.
At the range, I made my way straight to Lana’s target. The ground was soft beneath my feet, but I knew better than to think the fall would be anything short of painful.
I stopped when my back was pressed against the target, standing in front of Lana, daring her to draw. We were alone out here. She could, if she wanted to.
Lana lowered her bow, her eyes narrowing into suspicious slits.
Wordlessly, I threw something between us. A simple bandana, offering her a rematch.
A smile tugged over her lips. The taunting kind.
“So sorry I had to sample your boyfriend. Not knowing what he tasted like was a mystery I couldn’t bear,” she purred sweetly.
Even though I believed Hunter, her words still hit me somewhere deep. I wanted to pounce on her and tear her limbs for even uttering his name. He was mine, even when he wasn’t.
I smiled back at her. I had a plan. “Take the bandana.”
“I can kill you, even blindfolded.”
“Please do. Was he good?” I asked, watching as she made her way to the bandana in the middle of the space between us.
“So you don’t know? You two haven’t spoken?”
I shook my head. She thought he’d kept her secret.
“He was great.” She flipped her shiny hair to one shoulder, still walking. “I might see him today for dinner after I’m done whooping your ass. We’ll see. The Patriots’ quarterback also wants a date. It’s hard being me.”
“I can imagine,” I said.
She picked up the bandana, went back to her spot, and tied it over her eyes. Raising her bow, she aimed at me. My heart was in my throat. I wanted to move away, to punch my own face for what I’d gotten myself into. Lana’s hands were steady, but her chest rose and fell quickly.
“You idiot. You know I’ll do it,” she muttered, seeing nothing behind the blindfold.
“Then do.” I swallowed. “Kill me like I killed Spot.”
“Don’t say his name,” she warned. “Don’t you dare.”
“It was an accident,” I repeated. “A terrible accident I’ve regretted every moment since that day.”
“I know!” she snapped, lowering her bow momentarily, stomping. “It wasn’t just about Spot, you idiot. It was about everything. You had parents and a family and talent and security. And you were easy prey. So insecure and apologetic and…and…” She waved her hand in my direction. “You.”
She raised her bow again, huffing, “Now stand still.”
I did. Sweat dripped down my spine under my sweater, and I felt my legs shaking. I wanted to throw up. She drew the arrow again. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Do it. Get it out of your system before it is my turn to hurt you back.
“Drop out of the match, and I won’t kill you,” came her voice.
My eyes popped open.
“That’s a big request,” I said hoarsely.
“You are my target,” she pointed out.
“Because I put myself here willingly,” I argued. “Will all be forgiven and forgotten if I step down and don’t show up in half an hour?”
She didn’t know I was wired under my sweater.
That she was being recorded.
“Yes,” she said grimly. “But you need to tell them now.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Okay.” She lowered her bow again, removing the blindfold and discarding it on the ground. Her eyes, dead and flat, scanned me.
“Just so you know…” Her throaty voice wrapped around my neck. “Hunter was everything the media said he was, and more. I had a lot of fun stealing your boyfriend. I wish we could continue this. I’d have loved to torture you for a lifetime.”
I stepped away, knowing now how deep and delusional her lie was. “I know.”
I turned around to find Junsu in the shadows, under the roofed seats, scowling. I brushed past him, not stopping when he whispered my name.
He used to shout it before. Now, he was scared.
He knew.
Junsu was at my heels. Now that I’d decided not to compete, he pretended to be invested. Devastated, even. He spoke, but none of the things he said registered. I unlocked my car, stuffing my bag into the passenger seat.
Junsu grabbed my shoulder and spun me so I faced him, his expression etched with fury.
“What was that?” he demanded.
“I’m guessing that’s a rhetorical question.” I brushed off his touch.
That was it. I’d lost. My Olympic dream officially went down the drain. Hell, I’d flushed it myself. Somewhere in the back of my head, panic had begun to set in. I knew it was the last time I’d set foot in this club. After everything that happened—everything that was about to happen—I couldn’t come back and practice here. Not professionally, and not as a hobby. I imagined I’d find a new place, or maybe go to the woods or to the farmhouse my parents had outside of Boston. I would still practice, but not professionally.
It was time to find out who I was.
What I was good at, what I stood for.
It was time to get out of my shell and live. And it’s frightening.
“You didn’t even try. You quit.” He motioned his arm toward the club.
“So?” I shrugged. “My career. My dream. My prerogative.”
“My reputation,” he countered, shoving a finger to his chest. “You could lose by few points. Now I look incompetent.”
“Ah.” I smiled. “Cat’s out of the bag now. So you did want me to lose, just not by much.”
Junsu’s face fell. “What? No! I…”
I leaned forward, brushing my lip over his nose purposefully. I felt goosebumps rise on his skin. We’d never been this close physically. “I know what you did, Junsu. You and Lana. I know about your deal. Lana came clean to Hunter when she tried to seduce him in your office. You did this to yourself. Now I have a witness, and a three-page letter I left with each of the four judges on the committee. They’re going to find them shortly, if they haven’t already. An identical letter was sent to the United States’ Olympic and Paralympic Committees. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m on my way to the police station. Hunter Fitzpatrick, AKA the boy, already gave them his official statement, as per my request.”
I bowed, the way he’d taught me when he started training me, mocking the sign of respect he’d insisted we give each other.
“No!” Junsu barked desperately, tugging at my hand.
I lunged into the driver’s seat, locking the doors automatically before he got to me. He pounded his palms over the window, his voice muffled by the glass between us.
“She had money! I needed to pay for my son’s college.”
I started the car, feeling tears stinging my eyes. I didn’t dare let them loose.
“Sailor! You ruin my career if you do that! My family! My reputation!”
I backed out of the parking lot, blazing down the street I’d driven every day. It held memories, a piece of my heart, and a broken dream I now left behind.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to set foot on it afterwards.
By nighttime, the details about Junsu and Lana were plastered all over the news. I got calls asking if I wanted to retake a match with someone else, considering Lana was not going anywhere near the Olympics anytime soon after what she’d done. I declined. The Olympic spot went to a thirty-three-year-old mother of four from rural Indiana by default. Her stats were crazy.
Mom, Dad, and Sam gathered in the living room around me while we watched her interview. Their hands were on my back, shoulders, and arms.
I was safe with my family. I was home.